The present invention relates to a data distribution systems, apparatus and methods for obtaining data from a Web server via wire and/or radio communication networks to distribute mail including this data to client nodes via the wire and/or radio communication networks. Specifically, the present invention relates to data distribution systems, apparatus and methods preferably used to obtain from a Web server position information on the location of a client to communicate this information to a client node, to display in the client node, the position information on the location of the client, and to further display a route to the location of the client.
Browser software such as xe2x80x9cInternet Explorerxe2x80x9d from Microsoft Corp. and xe2x80x9cNetscape Navigatorxe2x80x9d from Netscape Communications Corporation is now commonly used such that requested data is distributed from a World Wide Web (WWW) server (also referred to as a Web server) via the Internet and the received data is displayed in accordance with the browser software.
Mail communication is also commonly used now, including not only mail communication between computers connected to a wire communication network but also mail communications between computers connected to both wire and radio communication networks, respectively, and between portable computers connected to a radio communication network. However, methods for effectively combining these communication methods to efficiently distribute data are not well known.
In addition, car navigation systems using GPS (Global Positioning System) technology are now widely used. For example, installing a car navigation apparatus in a taxi and allowing the apparatus to display a route to the location (destination) of a client who has hired the taxi, the taxi can reach the location of the client without deviating from the correct course.
However, to allow the car navigation apparatus installed in the taxi to display the route to the destination, for example, the driver of the taxi must find in a map the destination communicated to the driver through radio communication and input the latitude and longitude to the car navigation apparatus.
In addition, for example, even if a taxi dispatch center can obtain position information on the latitude and longitude of the destination via the Internet by means of retrieval from a Web server, an operator must orally inform the taxi driver of the retrieved position information on the destination via a radio transmitter and the driver must manually input to the car navigation apparatus the position information on the destination obtained through the driver""s radio.
These operations require a large amount of time and labor and cannot be performed while driving due to the need to turn the eyes from the front view in order to check the map. In addition, input errors are likely to occur in inputting orally communicated position information to the car navigation apparatus. Thus, it is difficult to inform a taxi driver of a route to a destination using a car navigation apparatus.
The present invention is provided in view of these problems of the background art, and its object is to provide a data distribution system, apparatus, and method capable of effectively combining browser software and mail communication together to simply and efficiently distribute information obtained from a Web server via the Internet, to users (client nodes) through mail communication.
Another object of this invention is to provide a data distribution system, apparatus, and method preferably used to effectively combine browser software, mail communication, and a car navigation apparatus together to distribute information obtained from a Web server via the Internet, to the car navigation apparatus through mail communication so that the user displays a route to the destination without the need for complicated operations.
To achieve these and other objects, a data distribution system according to this invention includes one or more data servers, service nodes, and client nodes, each of the data servers responsive to a request from one of the service nodes for transmitting to the requesting service node, index data indicating one or more distributing data that can be distributed to one of the other communication nodes and the distributing data indicated by the index data, each of the service nodes comprising a requesting/receiving means for requesting the data server to transmit the index data and the distributing data and receiving the index and distributing data transmitted in response to the request for transmission, and mail generating/distributing means for generating mail including the received distributing data and distributing the generated mail to one or more of the client nodes.
Preferably, each of the data servers comprises HTML (HyperText Markup Language) data transmission means responsive to a request from one of the service nodes for transmitting to the requesting service node HTML data including links to one or more of the distributing data and used as the index data, and distributing data transmission means responsive to a request from one of the service nodes including a specification for the link to one of the distributing data, for transmitting the distributing data with its link specified to the requesting service node, and the requesting/receiving means of each of the service nodes requests one of the data servers to transmit the HTML data, receives the HTML data transmitted in response to the request, specifies the link to desired one of the distributing data included in the received HTML data, requests the data server transmitting the HTML data to transmit the desired distributing data, and receives the desired distributing data transmitted in response to the request.
Preferably, the distributing data is position data each indicating the position of a predetermined place. In each of the data servers, the HTML data transmission means transmits HTML data including links to one or more of the position data, and in response to a request including a specification for the link to one of the position data, transmits the position data with the link specified. In each of the service nodes, the requesting/receiving means specifies the link to desired one of the position data included in the HTML data in order to request the desired position data to be transmitted, and receives the desired position data transmitted in response to the request, and the mail generating/distributing means generates mail including the received distributing data and distributes the generated mail. Each of the client nodes comprises mail receiving means for receiving the transmitted mail, and a position display means functional based on the position data included in the received mail, for displaying the predetermined place indicated by this position data.